Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for a six-day foreign tour today. He will visit three countries – Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand – from today till July 11. Whenever a Prime Minister goes on an official visit to another country, the expenses incurred during the visit are often discussed at the local level. Every common citizen is curious to know who bears the huge expenses of these VIP trips and how much does a foreign trip cost.
Who bears the expenses of the Prime Minister’s foreign trips?
The entire financial responsibility for Prime Minister Modi’s international travels rests primarily with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the Government of India. Whenever the Prime Minister travels abroad to attend bilateral talks or global summits, the MEA allocates funds from its annual budget to meet the expenses of all minor preparations associated with the visit. However, in keeping with diplomatic protocol, the host government of the country visited often bears a large portion of the expenses related to accommodation and basic local hospitality, thereby reducing the burden on the Indian exchequer.
How much does a trip cost?
A large part of the Indian exchequer is spent on the Prime Minister’s chartered aircraft, Special Protection Group (SPG), official delegation and other necessary logistics. Since the security of the Head of State is of paramount importance, huge sums are also spent on the transportation and communication equipment of the officials and security personnel accompanying him. The total cost of any foreign trip depends on factors such as the distance of the destination country from India, the length of stay there and the size of the delegation accompanying the Prime Minister. As a result, every trip is budgeted differently.
Cost of a typical trip abroad
In terms of average cost per trip, a typical foreign trip can cost between ₹4 crore to ₹25 crore. The report shows that the Prime Minister made a total of 11 foreign trips in 2024, which cost ₹109.5 crore. It is noteworthy that the trip to France in February 2025 was considered to be the most expensive single trip, on which ₹ 25.5 crore was spent.
**Separate rules for domestic travel**
Many people mistakenly believe that the expenses for the Prime Minister’s domestic travel are also borne by the Ministry of External Affairs; However, this is actually not the case. When the Prime Minister is on an official visit to a state or city in India, the entire security and travel expenses are borne by the budget of the Defense Ministry. Additionally, if the Prime Minister travels for a political party rally or election campaign, as per rules, the expenses for air travel and other personal arrangements must be borne by the political party concerned and not the government.
